How it runs for manufacturers and wholesalers
A named LedgerBPO accountant posts receipts with landed cost, completes work orders, invoices shipped orders and reconciles the inventory system to the general ledger every month, inside QuickBooks Online Advanced, Cin7, Sage Intacct or NetSuite. A second accountant reviews before anything is released.
What is outsourced bookkeeping?
Outsourced bookkeeping means a remote accounting team records, categorizes and reconciles your business transactions instead of an employee doing it in-house. You keep ownership of the accounting file and the bank relationship. The provider works inside your software on a fixed schedule, so the books are ready for reporting, tax and lending whenever you need them.
What we handle for manufacturers and wholesalers
- Receipts costed with freight, duty and brokerage allocated per line
- Work orders closed into finished goods with labor and overhead applied
- Shipped sales orders invoiced with exemption certificate references
- Inventory valuation report reconciled to the ledger balance monthly
- Scrap, rework and cycle-count adjustments posted with reasons
The KPI that matters here
Inventory system and ledger reconciled, with margin by product line issued, by business day 7.
Manufacturing compliance notes
Sales-tax exemption certificates
Resale certificates, manufacturing machinery and equipment exemptions and direct-pay permits each exempt a sale only when a valid certificate is on file at the time of sale or obtained within the state's grace period. We collect certificates at customer setup, store them against the customer record, track expiry dates and produce an exempt-sales report with certificate references for every period. Your preparer or Avalara files the return; we prepare the workings.
Cost of goods sold and inventory valuation
Inventory must be valued on a consistent method, whether FIFO, weighted average or standard cost with variances, and cost of goods sold must include the costs your CPA determines are inventoriable under IRS §471 and, above the gross-receipts threshold, §263A. We apply the method your CPA sets, reconcile the inventory system to the ledger monthly and document every adjustment, so year-end is a review rather than a rebuild.
Landed cost and import duty
Customs duty, tariffs, freight, insurance and brokerage on inbound goods are part of inventory cost and reach expense only when the goods are sold. We allocate these costs to receipts in Cin7, NetSuite or your ERP and post the same allocation in the ledger, so margin by product reflects what the goods actually cost to put on the shelf.
Multi-state nexus for wholesalers
A wholesaler with customers across states may have economic nexus in states where it makes no taxable sales, and still owe registration and returns to report exempt sales. We track sales by ship-to state and flag thresholds so you and your advisor can register where required. We do not give tax advice; we supply the numbers.
Manufacturing software we work in
- QuickBooks Online
- Sage Intacct
- Sage 50
- NetSuite
- Xero
- Bill.com
- Avalara
- Cin7
- Katana
- Fishbowl
- All 50 platforms
More for manufacturers and wholesalers
Other services for manufacturing
Frequently asked questions
What makes manufacturing bookkeeping different from a normal set of books?
Inventory. Purchases become an asset rather than an expense, and cost only reaches the P&L when goods ship, so the bookkeeper must cost every receipt, close every work order and reconcile the inventory system to the ledger. A service business skips all of that. Get it wrong and both gross margin and the balance sheet are fiction.
Do you post transactions in the inventory system or the accounting system?
Both, in the right order. Receipts, work orders, adjustments and shipments are recorded in Cin7, Katana, Fishbowl or NetSuite, which pushes summary journals to the ledger; supplier bills, customer payments, payroll and overheads are posted in QuickBooks Online Advanced, Xero or Sage. Our monthly reconciliation proves the two agree.
Can you handle a wholesaler that does light assembly or kitting?
Yes, kitting and light assembly are treated as simple work orders: components move from inventory into the kit at their cost, plus any labor you want capitalized, and the kit is sold as a single item. This keeps margin by kit visible. The accounting software setup service for manufacturers & wholesalers configures the bill of materials for it.
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